Hybrid
by Thesseli
Summary: One of Ingen's experiments is let loose on Isla Sorna.
1. Part 01

Talon eventually awoke from his hazy, drug-induced sleep.   
  
There was a different sort of smell in the air, not at all like in the lab. His eyes still   
closed, he breathed in the scent deeply. As he did so, his awareness slowly returned...  
at least until he realized he was in another cage. That brought him awake almost   
immediately.  
  
He leapt to his feet, eyes darting wildly. There were bars on all sides but one, and   
solid metal on the top and bottom. This was a small cage, much smaller than the one   
he was in before -- there was barely enough room for him to turn around. It was so   
small that the doors took up the whole side.   
  
He inhaled again, trying to concentrate on the scent. It was a good smell,   
comforting almost, like something he'd been missing for a long time.   
  
Outside. He was Outside. But still in a cage.  
  
The scents of the humans were gone, except for the places on his skin where he'd   
been touched by them -- while he was unconscious, of course. He usually woke up   
smelling like them. But this time, none of them were around. And he was Outside.  
  
Calmer now, he inspected his small prison more closely. He knew how to work the   
handles of doors -- the humans at the lab knew that too, which is why they were   
very careful not to use anything like that in his cages. But for some reason, there   
were handles just like the ones in the lab inside this cage, one on the inner door   
and one on the outer.  
  
Very carefully, he opened the first one.   
  
And when nothing unpleasant happened, he opened the door to the Outside. 


	2. Part 02

Still sniffing the air, Talon stepped out onto the beach.    
  
He looked around curiously, his yellow eyes taking in everything...  
no signs of life anywhere, but further inland were some low trees and   
what seemed to be the edge of a forest.  
  
There was bound to be prey there.  
  
With a leap forward, he sprinted for the treeline.  
"He's awake, and out of the cage," the woman said softly, watching the   
monitor that relayed the raptor's position.   
  
The man standing next to her sighed. "Didn't take him long, did it?"  
  
She shook her head, still staring at the screen. The tracking device that  
had been implanted under his skin was working, but all it told them was  
where he was. Not what was happening to him.   
  
"He'll be happier there," the man said, as if to reassure her, although --   
to his own ears -- he sounded more like he was trying to convince   
himself than his companion.  
  
The woman looked up from the InGen monitor, glancing sharply at him.   
"Yes, but will he be safe?"  
  
He shrugged. "They say he's probably the smartest thing on the island...  
barring anyone foolish enough to visit the place, that is." He smiled   
slightly. "He's smart enough to stay away from anything dangerous.   
Well, more dangerous than himself, at any rate."  
  
The woman also smiled a little, and returned her attention to the monitor,   
as did the man. "Jeez, look at him go," he said, unable to keep the   
appreciation out of his voice.  
  
His colleague nodded. "He loves to run."  
  
"That he does," he agreed. He paused for a moment. "He really will be   
happier there, you know."  
  
"I think he is already."  
  
He looked at her quizzically. "How can you tell?"  
  
She smiled again, gesturing at the fast-moving dot on the screen. "After   
all this time? I can tell." 


	3. Part 03

As he moved deeper into the jungle, Talon became aware of other scents, aside from the   
ocean and the rest of the Outside-smells. He slowed, then came to a full stop in a small   
clearing. He sniffed.  
  
There were other creatures here…creatures like him.  
  
He looked around, although he didn't expect to see anything. The scents were too faint   
to be very close. But there were others like him here! There had been none of his kind at   
the lab -- only humans. His only contact with any other living things had been after being   
darted and drugged. Then, when he was half asleep and barely able to move, humans   
would come into the cage with him. Mostly the white-coated ones, but sometimes the   
nice ones. These never did anything that hurt. Of these humans, who came to the lab on   
'visiting days', there were two that came at least once a week. One was a woman, the   
other was a tall man. *They* weren't like the ones in the white coats. These two came   
to the lab together, just to watch him, and always brought him food…the kind of food   
that they ate, not what was usually given to him. He could tell that the labworkers didn't   
like this, but they never stopped either of them from giving him the tantalizing things in   
the brightly-colored wrappers.   
  
Talon shook himself. He'd hated being alone in that cage. He didn't want to think about   
the lab anymore; besides, his previous line of thought was making him hungry. His   
stomach was rumbling, so he would have to find some food before he began his search   
for the other raptors. But what was there to eat in this place? He was used to having his   
food delivered to him, either as raw meat or (even better) living prey that he could catch.   
He'd always enjoyed that.   
  
He inhaled again, looking for familiar food-smells. There were none. But there were   
plenty of other scents that belonged to creatures he couldn't identify. Something out   
there had to be edible. All he had to do was find it… 


	4. Part 04

Talon didn't have to wait long for his meal. As he made his way through the jungle, he   
soon heard the sounds of something in the underbrush, something smaller than him (there   
was no use in hunting something large until he was more familiar with the prey in this   
place). He leapt forward as it came into view: it was about a third his size, hairless, and   
walked on four feet. He'd never seen anything like it before. But that didn't matter…  
the claws on his hands grasped the smaller creature, while those on his feet dug into its   
flesh, piercing the abdominal muscles and spilling its guts onto the ground.  
  
Immensely pleased with himself, Talon began to eat. The taste was different than what   
he was used to, but it was good, and its scaly skin wasn't nearly as unpleasant to swallow   
as fur. Or cloth. In the distance, he thought he heard the rumbles of something that   
sounded...large…but he was too intent on the taste of blood in his mouth to give it any   
more thought.   
  
Once his stomach had been taken care of, Talon went back to his search for the other   
raptors. This was unfamiliar territory, and he had no idea of what else might be on this   
island. Besides, he wanted to explore his new surroundings. He liked to explore. He   
hadn't been able to do anything like that for a very long time, and he was looking forward   
to the new sights, sounds, and smells. He had always been curious.   
  
He sniffed again, trying to catch the scent. He picked the most likely direction, and   
headed out.   
"He's moving again," said the woman watching the screen.   
  
The man's brow furrowed. "Where do you think he's going?"  
  
"Inland…it looks like…yes, it is. He's heading toward the old Ingen complex."  
  
He looked at her quizzically. "He couldn't possibly know that's there."  
  
She couldn't help but smile as she shook her head. "He's not going there because of the   
buildings -- he's going there because that's where the other raptors are," she said. Then a   
frown crossed her face as she realized what she'd said. "The other raptors..." she   
repeated, her voice trailing off. "I guess I…I haven't really been thinking of him that   
way. Not that I can think of him as anything else, but—"   
  
"I understand," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's been hard. Hell, it's   
been hard for all of us. You don't want him in that place any more than I do, but they say   
it's the best thing for him. He hated being locked up. You know that."  
  
"I know. I also know how he could break out of any cage they put him in, given enough   
time, which is why I think they're sending him there. To prevent another lawsuit."  
  
"As opposed to ours, if they can't manage to fix all of this?" he said softly. "At least now   
we don't have to worry about him getting loose again, and possibly hurting anyone." He   
raised an eyebrow. "Do we really want another incident like with that T. rex a few years   
ago? Or do we want him to take up hunting in another populated area, like he was doing   
before he was caught?"  
  
"First San Diego, then L.A.," she murmured, thinking about how the whole mess started.   
"No, I suppose we don't."  
  
"And once he finds the oth—I mean, once he finds the raptors that are there, he should do   
fine."  
  
She leaned back in the chair and folded her arms. "What if they don't accept him?"  
  
"Why wouldn't they do that? They've taken others into their pack; that's why Ingen   
decided to send him there in the first place. They've even adopted orphaned chicks from   
the other island. If they encounter one of their own, they'll generally take it in."  
"But he's not really one of their own, is he," she said warily. "I wonder if they'll be able   
to tell he's different."  
  
"I don't think they'll be able to tell. He looks exactly like one of them."  
  
She frowned up at him. "It's not his looks that I'm worried about; it's his scent. I know   
the scientists told us it wouldn't be a problem, but how can they be sure? We certainly   
can't smell what they can." She paused, gazing up at him uncomfortably. "My God,   
what if they can tell he's not what he looks like?" 


	5. Part 05

Exploring was Good. Outside was Good. But the sound of many, many large things   
nearby was not.  
  
Talon had been hearing the noises for the past few hours, and had become more and more   
concerned. There had been rumblings in the distance, roars of creatures much larger than   
he was. This was quite disconcerting…he had no idea what sort of animals were making   
the sounds, whether they were predator or prey. All he knew was that they were big, far   
bigger than he was used to.   
  
And even large prey could be dangerous.  
  
If the raptor had been able to frown, he would have. There were creatures out there that   
were huge. What were they?   
  
For the first time since coming to Isla Sorna, he was feeling a little less than confident.   
What could be making noises like that? He knew about animals that were raptor-sized   
and human-sized, as well as some creatures that were bigger and that walked on four feet   
instead of two, but he didn't think he'd ever encountered anything much larger than them.   
What he was hearing sounded a lot bigger than cows or horses.  
  
He clicked his toe claws nervously on the ground, wishing that the raptor-scent wasn't so   
strong in the direction of the sounds. Because he needed to get to the others, he would   
have to face whatever was between them and him. But everything was so strange and   
unfamiliar here that he wasn't quite sure what to do next. He would have to be careful,   
he knew that. Once he found others of his kind, perhaps he would be a bit more bold.  
"Stop pacing. You're making me nervous."  
  
The man snorted, but did as she asked. He lit another cigarette and sat down next to her.   
"I wish they'd get those damn cameras working," he muttered. "A dot on a screen   
doesn't tell us much, except where he is."  
  
"They say they'll be up and running in a few weeks, a month at the most," she replied,   
hoping to soothe his nerves. In actuality, she was hoping the repair teams would be sent   
to the island a little earlier than planned. She supposed she could press them, but Ingen   
had been bending over backwards to accommodate her (and her family, and her friends),   
so she didn't think the work could be completed any faster no matter how loudly she   
protested.   
  
"I don't want to have to wait that long to see what he's doing," her companion declared.   
He'd never been one for patience. "And these people better know what they're doing,   
that's all I can say."  
  
"They're all very well-trained; I'm sure the equipment will be fully functional once they   
hook it back up to the grid. It's geothermal power, so it's not like they can run out of   
juice."  
  
He frowned. "That's not what I meant," he said archly. "I meant, do they know how to   
deal with what lives on that island?"  
  
"They've been trained," she repeated slowly, "trained by Ingen to get in, do what they   
have to do, and get out as fast as possible, while keeping interaction with the local   
species to a bare minimum."  
  
"Really," he said, unable to keep the skepticism out of his voice.  
  
"They won't have guns," she promised. "Real guns, anyway. They will have tranquilizers,   
though."  
  
"And tasers?" he asked pointedly.   
  
"Yes, they'll have tasers," she sighed.   
  
The man glared at her. They were a necessary evil, but he didn't want to think about the   
times he'd seen them used. "Do they know not to hurt him?" he asked, still dubious.  
  
This time, she smiled. "They know. And anyway, I think it's more of a question of him   
hurting them, if they happen to run across each other."  
  
"He won't necessarily attack them," he retorted. "Remember that one time he was loose?   
Knocked me down from behind, then flipped me over. I still don't know how he did it.   
Stuck his face right in mine, sniffing me…I thought I was dead." He couldn't help but shiver   
at the memory, but he brought it up because it proved -- at least to him -- that the creature   
they were monitoring wasn't a mindless killer.   
  
"But he didn't hurt you."  
  
"No, he didn't," he replied, and shook his head. "I swear, it was like he was looking for me.   
He knew I was there, and he was looking for me..."  
  
"He probably thought you had more food for him," she said gently.   
  
"It was more than that. I know it."  
  
"How do you know it?"  
  
He wasn't in the mood to argue now, not even with her. "You said before that you knew him?   
Well, I do too. And I know that he's more than an animal." He looked away. "If he wasn't,   
then all of this would be pointless. All of it." 


	6. Part 06

As the sun was setting, Talon pushed his way through a break in the trees and stepped out onto a riverbank...and gazed across the water at the most incredible assortment of creatures he'd ever seen.  
  
Some of them were huge...long necks, even longer tails, and so heavy that the ground trembled when they moved. Some were only a little bigger than he was, with strange flat faces and mouths that ended in bills. There was a flock of tiny ones that wouldn't have come halfway to his hip. And there were ones about his size that walked on two legs. For a moment he thought he had found the other raptors; but these were plant-eaters, with necks too long and heads too small to be members of his species. He was disappointed. Still, he could just pick out the raptor-scent out from the tangled, confusing mixture. It was the only one that was familiar.  
  
It didn't occur to him to wonder how he knew the bipedal dinosaurs were plant eaters, when he'd never encountered one before. It also didn't occur to him that he'd been nervous about the varied scents until he'd actually seen what they were. Once he saw them, he'd relaxed, knowing that none of them were a threat. *How* he knew didn't even come up.  
  
It appeared that they were gathering themselves to move on for the night. No doubt they rested somewhere further from the water, so as not to be ambushed by carnivores coming there for an early-morning drink. That was probably a good idea, even for him -- there were still some rather menacing sounds coming from upriver. He decided to follow the others' example, and disappeared back into the forest, moving purposefully until he was well away from the river.  
  
Talon searched until he'd found a relatively secluded spot to settle down for the night. It offered good cover and was fairly close to a fast-flowing stream. He was no longer concerned about the sounds he'd heard earlier. Anything big enough to have produced them was bound to make enough noise to be heard, if it was moving this deep in the forest. He doubted they would be able to sneak up on him.but still, better safe than sorry. He didn't know what else might be on the island.  
  
The raptor scraped together some of the soft underbrush -- with an irrational wish for some of the even softer bedding that had been in his cage at the lab -- and curled up as best as he could. The search for the others could wait until tomorrow. He yawned expansively, showing his impressive array of teeth, and soon fell into a deep sleep.  
  
* * *  
  
"Looks like he's settling down," the man mused, as the image on the screen slowed and finally came to rest. "Are you outta here?"  
  
She shrugged. "Yeah. Nothing left to see until tomorrow."  
  
He helped her on with her coat. "Same time?"  
  
"Same time. I'll bring some sandwiches." 


End file.
